Trois

1) In light of our discussion yesterday,what is your favorite character (it can be from any story including, but not limited to: movies, comic books, concept albums etc.) and why? Is character an archetype of some kind? Next, perhaps slightly more difficult to identify, what is your favorite plot ever (again this can be taken from any story) why? Since all plot lines are in some way archtypal, how would you create this plot to make a story of your own? Finally, do you prefer plot-centre stories  character focused stories and why?

First of all, let me just say, that this is such a terribly cruel thing to ask an honors student.... Although this is not my favorite character of all time by any stretch, when I think about having to actually choose that, my soul curls up and dies a little bit, so I'm going to have to go with Jacky Faber from the Bloody Jack series. I practically grew up reading her books. She's is a very archetypal femme fatale. Especially as a young girl, it was awesome having that sort of role model (ugh, such a cliche) who is just a complete badass, a pirate, and pretty much has the ability to control every male that crosses her path. The only thing that keeps her from being my absolute favorite is she is super cocky and doesn't think anything out. Ever. Which can get super frustrating as a reader.

Ugh. Favorite plot. Equally cruel. Hmm. Although I don't remember it that well because i read them so long ago, His Dark Materials (which is the Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife etc by Pullman) blew me away. Also the Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Definitely those two a at the top of the list. His Dark Materials are, yes, archetypal of an epic journey taken by a a genuine person who is up against people that seek to stop her at any cost and is helped along by unexpected allies. But there are some parts of the book that are just chilling amazing I seem to remember. And then Hitchhiker's. I mean, come on, those books are a mockery of other mockeries mocking things that mock things that are sacred. And it's just like the best thing ever. No other book ever can make the thoughts of a bowl of petunias and the conversation between a robot and matress relevant in the grand scheme of things. Actually while I'm on the subject of Hitchhiker's, Marvin is also one of my favorite characters for no other reason than he is simply a morose robot.

I probably prefer character-centre stories just because, for me, it's more impactful to connect to characters and follow their journey, regardless of what that journey is, than to just follow a plot line without every making a deep connection to any of the characters in the book. As humans, it's easier for us to find a bit of ourselves in other people (be it human characters, humanoid characters, or personified animal characters) than in events themselves.


2.) Of the critical theories which do you think your generation would predominantly favor and why? Use at least three pieces of evidence.

I think that my leans towards different parts of several different theories. (Warning: the following is probably going to be exceptionally cynical.) I think we favor the aspect of structuralism that allows us to try to put people into little boxes and predict exactly who we think they are. I think we favor post-structuralism because every new generation wants to be unique and be able to say that everything the previous genarion has tried to figure out is wrong and that everyone's individual truths are the right ones. I think we lean towards Marxist theory because analyzing power struggles makes us feel intelligent and like we've got things way more figured out than we actually do. Feminism is an easy fall back because, even if someone doesn't agree with the theory, it's so easy to point fingers and say that something is anti-feminist. All in all, I think that many aspects of some of the critical theories are just ways for my generation to justify their pretentious opinions.